Denali Backpackers Missing for Days Found Alive

Two women missing in Denali National Park and Preserve were located alive and well Wednesday. Backpackers Abby Flantz, 25, of Gaylord, Minn., and Erica Nelson, 23, of Las Vegas were located in the Dry Creek drainage in the eastern portion of the search area, National Park Service spokeswoman Kris Fister said.

Park officials were briefing women's families when the cell phone of Nelson's mother rang, Fister said.

The woman expressed astonishment because caller ID indicated it was her missing daughter on the phone.

Park officials thought the women were not carrying a cell phone. However, the caller was indeed Nelson, who reported the women were well and in the Dry Creek area.